DaBearsBlog is On Vacation!

DaBearsBlog will be on vacation until May 20th. I and my lady shall be venturing to Ireland for a time. (I'm assuming you'd prefer me not update this website with hurling results or preview columns for Ireland's campaign in Euro 2012 this summer.) Should anything of note break in Bearsland I will be entrusting things to good ol' Reverend Dave.

I will be attempting to devour my fear of heights by scaling Skellig Michael - video attached to this post. If I die whilst trying to do so I will leave it to you all to figure out how this site moves forward. It must live on!

“I’ve never been around a receiver, never seen a receiver who runs routes like Devin Hester does outside,” Marshall said. “His hands are soft. He has all the skills to be a great, Pro Bowl receiver. Not a punt returner—we all know what he can do there—but a Pro Bowl receiver. Honestly, I think he’s going to have a bigger year than me this year."
~Brandon Marshall

Sounds to me like he's just supporting his teammate, trying to be a motivator and show some humility.

Revis did the same thing when the Jets were looking to sign Asomugha. Went on record that Asomugha was "the best corner in football" and that he wanted him on the team. Shame really, would have been a great tandem and a much better fit than Philly.

That's what I'm thinking. I don't think he was blowing smoke up our asses and doing a Larry Meyer - not his style. I'll trust BM's opinion and look forward to seeing his development - he was a marked man when there were no weapons at wideout, Cutler never had long in the pocket, Martz was a dick, but Devin always had good hands. It'll be like an upgrade at receiver.

Have a great time Jeff. Not sure what parts you are visiting, but my favorite was Kilarney. The Kilarney National Park on a slightly foggy morning has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. The town is great.

Marinelli compares McClellin to Rams 1998 third-round pick Leonard Little and Lions 2008 third-round choice Cliff Avril. Little was a linebacker at Tennessee who developed into a productive pass-rushing end while playing for Lovie Smith in St. Louis, while Avril converted from linebacker to end at Purdue before starring for Marinelli in Detroit.

McClellin and Avril are the same size and possess similar athletic traits.

Fine. I hope McLellin gains 4 inches and 60 pounds over the summer and ends up playing like Mario Williams. I hope this not just because I want the Bears to win, but because I want Murph to be vindicated in his desire for a first rounder comparison.

Furthermore, I hope McLellin is nothing like Avril in that he doesn't require any major contract negotiations. I hope McLellin becomes such a dedicated Bears that he remains willing to play for similar money to his rookie deal.

With the extra money saved from that showing of self sacrifice, I hope the Bears randomly award front row, 50 yard line season tickets to the small but loyal fan base of Leonard Little (Lovie's favorite from back in the day). Murph, of course, will be first in line.

Oh... and I hope that the party awarding the season tickets ends by 8pm so Murph can get to bed on time ;p

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 8, 2012 at 12:00 am

Ha! I'll take credit for the Jerks reference. I keed I keed Jefe. Let the Guinness flow into your mouth like the gentle water trickling down from the Wicklow mountains....

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 8, 2012 at 12:00 am

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 8, 2012 at 12:00 am

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 8, 2012 at 12:00 am

i will purchase them and will be on in a couple of days. been working my ass to the bone. Trying to make enough cash in the next 3 months so i can take some time off and focus on my drinking and watching the bears fucking kill errrbody this fall.

By the way, the music in that video really does follow you around. It comes out of the trees. There would be more Romanians holding polystyrene cups complaining that you didn't put enough money in though ....

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 8, 2012 at 12:00 am

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 9, 2012 at 12:00 am

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 9, 2012 at 12:00 am

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 9, 2012 at 12:00 am

Actually, I was taught by my grandmother, that it was wrong to fart anytime and anywhere that was not the bathroom.

Kid you not, till I was about 19, I would hold my farts in till I got to a bathroom because of the etiquette my grandmother ingrained into my head. Thus, when my girlfriend first broke the barrier, I was appalled and we had a long, long, long argument over whether girls were even allowed to fart in the presence of people.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 9, 2012 at 12:00 am

What if Artoo's grandma had some weird german fetish where she made him fart into empty milk containers in the bathroom so he could empty them outside. She would have these horrific flashbacks of being hotboxed if she dared fart in the presence of others.

"...we had a long, long, long argument over wheter girls WERE EVEN ALLOWED TO FART in the presence of people."

I'm fucking dying laughing right now because all i can think of is a country or time period where girls were just cut off from the village if they dared fart in the presence of any village elder or male member....even a small child.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 9, 2012 at 12:00 am

Actually, she was half Indian and Irish but mostly Indian because her grandmother and mother were practically full blooded Indian.

That was a story I wanted to bring up awhile back. My great great grandmother was full blooded Indian and according to my Pa, mean as hell to anyone who dated her grandchildren.

Anyways, Ma's family was well off at the time of my great great grandparents but the when my great great grandpa died, they took everything. All my great great grandmother had was 2 or 3 acres and that was after they took the 300 to 400 acres of land.How? At the time my great great grandmother couldn't write or read any English. Thus, they took advantage of her and took the land. I have no clue if it was the government or some white person.

Thus, they screwed them over and ever since then my great great grandmother was not only upset but hated anyone who was not related to her.

Anyhoo, true story and sad but my grandmother has always told this story or use to, around Thanksgiving. Always wondered why they never tried to fight to get it back but when you are poor and have been screwed over, I guess you give up.

Aha. That explains it. Indian Native-American or Indian Indian? Farting wouldn't be cool with the NA Indians because they lived in teepees .... if you've got half the tribe in there cutting cheese after heap plenty buffalo stew .....mang! Ditto the Irish because the only place God can't see or hear you is in when you're in the john. Old people farting just isn't right anyway. It's not funny when old people fart for some reason, can't put my finger on it. Hey! Pull my finger! Go on, pull it ...

Oh Artoo. That is so cute. You are the living end. Perfect boyfriend material my son. She farted in front of Grammy? I knew that girl was all wrong for you when you had to bang her extra hard on her birthday so that you could watch the game that time. I mean that's basically shit molecules she forced down your grammy's throat. Tut tut.
(wags index finger)

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 9, 2012 at 12:00 am

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 9, 2012 at 12:00 am

You're a bigger man than I Artoo. Only one chick ever cut the cheese in front of me. I probably could have dealt with a small squeaky that snuck out between the cheeky but it was a roaring bull horn of a fart and that was the last time I dated her.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 9, 2012 at 12:00 am

i wouldn't go that far MB. She has banging titties and seems like she would be fun. Now when Murph tries to get intimate whilst thinking of her/viewing her photo all he will see is you shaking your finger at him and shaming him. ED will surely follow.

Murph, don't listen to MB, if you want to smell her poop you go right ahead you sick little puppy.

hahahaha.... i guess. My feeling is that you can pick up a hotter chick down at your favorite bar... but I live in fucking san diego where every other chick looks like Kate upton. (and the fish tacos flow from the faucets like....water.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 9, 2012 at 12:00 am

Was in Ireland about 6 years or so ago. Dublin is kind of bland, but there's that pub dating from the 13th century that's pretty fun. The western coast is awesome. Climbed Craugh Patrick and could see the mussel shoals, or whatever they're called in Ireland. The Guinness museum is tourist-y but fun. Guinness doesn't taste any different there than here, but they certainly give you better pours. Spent a few nights at a B&B on one of the Aran (sp?) Islands. The person at the ferry office made the reservations in Gaelic. That was cool. Have fun!

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 8, 2012 at 12:00 am

GB, MN and Detroit you are so fucking dead:

http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=8797

August can't come soon enough. Marshall and Cutler are going to fucking tear it up.

You can be such a fucking loon.
Ted Gunderson?
Where do you get your information, the Weekly World News?
Gunderson claimed the Feds were involved in the OKC bombing, dickhead. And that was as fucking stupid as what you think he claimed.

And apologies in advance for the "dickhead" remark, but at the time it happened, I worked across the street from the alternate bombing target for McVeigh, during my breaks from college. He and his asshole pals were contemplating murdering people I know. They succeeded in killing 168 people, including nearly twenty toddlers at a daycare in the building.
Passing along more myths that ultra-right-wing lunatics like to invent to escape responsibility for what their pals did to innocent women and children in Oklahoma City burns my fucking chaps right up. If you're going to do that, at least get the myth right.

Here's a sample of the other stuff Gunderson believed in, along with the chemtrail :
"Gunderson is well known for his claims that an archaeological dig under the McMartin preschool showed evidence of tunnels, through which the children were allegedly spirited to other buildings to be prostituted in the community (Summit 1994). The results of this dig have for years gone unpublished while calls for funds to self-publish the results have been issued in newsletters such as the Survivor Activist (1994). Meanwhile, the integrity of the dig has been strongly disputed (Earl 1995). Gunderson presented what he called “new evidence” in the 1984 McMartin preschool sex-abuse case in Manhattan Beach, California. He produced a number of photographs of the foundation of a house in the hills above San Bernadino, California, that had burned down, he claimed, the night the charges were filed in the McMartin case. He alleged that the McMartin children were flown to this house and ritually abused, and that the house was torched to destroy evidence. The sum total of the evidence he presented to support this allegation was the existence of spray-painted satanic graffiti on the foundation stones and on boulders on the property. Apparently, several years had gone by between the time of the alleged fire and the time Gunderson snapped the photos. Yet Gunderson was dismissive of the idea that the house foundation on the lot, with its hillside vista of San Bernadino, had been used by teenagers who might have painted the graffiti after the fire. The therapists were enraptured and later asked if Gunderson was planning to publish his photos or if there was any chance of using this evidence in a new trial. The McMartin preschool case resulted in the longest criminal proceeding in American history and failed to produce any convictions (see e.g., Nathan and Snedecker 1995).

Gunderson then described a conversation he had with a witness, Paul Bonacci, from an alleged satanic-ritual abuse case in Nebraska that was detailed by former Nebraska state Sen. John DeCamp (1992), who was also a speaker at this conference. The grand jury of Lincoln described this case as an attack by DeCamp “for personal political gain and possible revenge” (Dorr 1991, p. 1), a “smear campaign,” and a "carefully crafted hoax” (United Press International, September 18, 1990). The grand jury jailed one and indicted two others (including Bonacci) for perjury, and was so critical of DeCamp that he sued the grand jury for ridicule, though he quickly lost (Dorr 1991). A church in the area, the Nebraska Leadership Conference, responded by publishing a tract (no date) named The Mystery of the Carefully Crafted Hoax, with a foreword by Gunderson, in which he continued the allegations of satanic-ritual crime. At the conference Gunderson related Bonacci’s description of a slave auction in Las Vegas in which 25 to 30 vans pulled up, airplanes landed, and foreign men with turbans bought children and took them away. According to Gunderson: "Nobody knows what happened to those kids. They use them for several things: body parts, they use them for sacrificing, for sex slaves. But this is a big market. Does anybody have any idea what a blue-eyed, blond-haired eleven- or twelve-year girl would sell for? Fifty thousand dollars.”

Gunderson claimed that there are currently 500 satanic cults in New York City alone, each averaging eight sacrificial murders a year, for a total of 4,000 human sacrifices every year. Gunderson did not explain how the cults remove bodies in the asphalt jungle of New York.

Gunderson believes in the threat posed by the New World Order, as do Marqui and militia members. Gunderson has appeared on Dateline NBC, at militia conferences (Witt 1995), on Michigan Militia member Mark Koernke’s shortwave radio program, and on the cover of Spotlight (May 13, 1995), stating that the U.S. government intentionally bombed the Oklahoma City federal building in April 1995, in order to remove our rights through anti-terrorism bills. Gunderson informed the audience that Spotlight “tells it like it is,” and urged audience members to call the subscription number, which he read aloud. On top of this, Gunderson gave an interview to Lyndon LaRouche’s Executive Intelligence Review (May 25, 1990), in which he described FBI special agent Ken Lanning as “probably the most effective and foremost speaker for the satanic movement in this country, today or at any time in the past.” Gunderson and Marqui seem to me to be attempting to introduce therapists to racist conspiracy theories and reactionary propaganda, while at the same time groups such as the LaRouche organization endorse satanic conspiracy theories to draw in new members."

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 9, 2012 at 12:00 am

get Cutler guys like Driver, Nelson, Jennings, Finley and watch the numbers sky rocket. Rodgers had a sick year and was on fire but for gods sake can anyone give the receivers and playcalling some credit?

Cutler is a big dude by the way. My dad met him and was shocked at how big he is in person.

Also, i'm sure Rodgers is much stronger now. He has a fucking cannon, the cocksucker.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 9, 2012 at 12:00 am

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 9, 2012 at 12:00 am

Tommie has really bad knees that don't get better, just progressively worse. That means that barring any additional injury his leg strength gets worse and worse all season rendering him much weaker as the season goes on.

That is a huge risk and shame on Emery for ignoring the D line, a crucial piece in the Bears D puzzle.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 9, 2012 at 12:00 am

It's inherent, in-born, it is in the molecular make up of who you are when you're being cooked. It's not environmental and can't be influenced or 'picked up' from outside influences – tv, a gay uncle, mom’s friends, etc…. It is the same as whether you're an introvert or extrovert, smart or dumb, athletic or a geek (no offense shady).

As far as how I view those who are gay... they are people too, and should be afforded the exact same rights as you or me track. Not more, not less… who am I, or are we, to say who people can love and be with. And why in god’s name (see how I did that) would you spend time giving a shit? A scientific fact is that children of gay couples are usually feel much more loved, taken care of, and supported.

Now, if I get me package grabbed by an aggressive gay dude, he’s going to get knocked the fuck out… but that’s only happened to me once and I was in SF (his territory). I didn’t punch him cause he was hammered and he didn’t actually get me, but honestly it wasn’t that big a deal after 2 minutes my buddies and I laughed about it. In fact, I have gotten fondled by chicks much more in my time, including a fat hooker on the street in Cabo (I also gave her the last second karate kid wrist block millimeters away from my junk).

So net net, they are people too who usually contribute a lot to society as group of people… but in general, they’re just people like you and me. Some of them even believe the exact same things you do… like ted haggard, paul barnes, eddie long, and many many many more (like pretty much every catholic priest)… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scandals_involving_evangelical_Christians

The short answer? I disagree with you on what is natural and what isn't for obvious reasons because I believe the Bible is rich in wisdom concerning this matter. I look at homosexuality as a behavior that is not natural. Plain and simple. If it were, the human race would be extinct. I agree with you wholeheartedly as to how every human being's should be treated and my personal conviction is that all sexual immorality is wrong, regardless of sexual preference.

Or do you think that they have the choice to subvert their true selves in lew of an easier, non-judged life?

As a follow up, if you do believe it's a choice... why in heaven’s name would a dude choose to be persecuted by society... never mind choosing a stinky hairy bunghole over a beautify set of boobies and a set of long smooth legs leading up to a sweet vajayjay? Doesn’t make ANY sense.

If a man wants what the scriptures have to offer in this area of his life(sexual orientation), he must choose Gods way. That is what I'm saying. This is what I was referring to when someone on the blog accused Tebow of being gay. If Tebow's(and I'm not saying he is)attracted to men, he has chosen not to act on that impulse by being born again and he has become a follower of Christ. That's all Jesus asks of every one of us. Like I said, a person is free to choose their path in life. The whole premise of being a Christian other than the spiritual aspect of it, is to discipline your behavior to mirror that of Jesus.

We can now decode animal genomes and produce evidence of quantum particles. I would say that, yes, scientific knowledge has progressed in the past 3000 years.
Whether you like the results of that progression is entirely up to you as a free human being, of course.

Yup, peeps is peeps, judge individuals on their actions, not groups based on prejudice.

But I have noticed something about 'environmental factors' living in Thailand, especially from having taught so many kids here, and having seen them in their formative and impressionable years. Thailand is surprisingly a very tolerant society - you can be who you want to be and not have to fear any reprisals for doing so. In fact, if you get beaten up in the street it's more than likely a tranny that will be kicking your head in. Never mess with a man wearing high heels.

I digress

To me it's a more accurate indicator of mankind's sexual diversity - in the west, people hide their preferences moreso, they guard who they are if they are anything other than heterosexual. Over here, people don't feel the need to hide who they are so they come out of their shells a lot sooner. Paternal abandonment is rife - the men are weak, irresponsible and childish, boys being spoilt from an early age. Boys are mostly raised and surrounded by women, grandmothers moreso than mothers, as the mothers either are out either trying to hook a new man, or earning a wage. There is a huge percentage of the 'third sex'. Transgender folk who feel trapped in the wrong body. Kids growing up see this daily and see it as normal. This results, in my opinion, in further cases of boys/girls who imitate what they see, and may become false trans-sexuals. It's not an exact science, but I have estimated about a third of the population here is what people in the west might call 'gay', although it isn't that simple.

I taught for two years at a Catholic boys school and calculated that about 35% of the boys actually thought of themselves as ladies, or exhibited gay behaviour/were gay - it was like a little science project and they were quite open about it. It was no secret that the priests running the school were gay, and a gay culture was very evident, very visible, and tolerated. The image of the student president walking around in his blue shorts, white towelled socks and sparkling silver stilettoes will never leave me. Suffice it to say that there is no doubt in my mind that environmental factors weigh heavily on our sexuality. Take away the strong male presence, and effeminacy may almost be inevitable.Monkey see monkey do.

meh, if I had hair I would be rocking either an antonio banderas from desperado or a fucking glamor-hawk like that. Sides, it's hard to talk smack about the guy, he's a fucking HOF stud legend on the field and although I think his wife is not that hot anymore, in her day.... You have to admit he’s a good looking guy… you know, in a non-gay way.

Sides, it's MUCH better than the bieber... http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/getty/2011/09000d5d822a7363_gallery_600.jpg

yeah..I understand he's HOF..but fuck me what's with the peacock on the head...I mean you have money quit going to classy cuts for 5 fucking .99 hair cuts..crikey your as bad as the ass-goblin's with the hair:

Combing your hair from the back of your head towards the front just defies belief. How much of a narcissist is that guy? Shave the fucker off! You're worth billions of dollars - you don't need to pretend that you're not going bald! People aren't fucking blind Don!.

I met Sir Jackie at the Chicago Auto Show in the 1990s when he padded his income hawking for Ford. He came out and talked about... shit... I dunno... Ford Racing or some such nonsense.

It was 1992 I think, because Toyota released the MK IV Toyota Supra and that was the hot car at the show.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%2793-%2795_Toyota_Supra.jpg

A year later, I bought a Subaru SVX. It was a decent car in some ways, but it swore me off Subaru.

http://www.subarusvx.com/images/carpics/svxs/svxs095.jpg

Sir Jackie is a legend.

I watched Talledega's last 20 minutes on Fox last saturday. Holy shit, NASCAR has gotten even worse than I ever remember. I guess they now allow bump drafting in plate races. What a stupid idea. Who thought of that? Most of the field wrecked. It was exactly like the end of Talledega Nights. Stupid.

Max Rockatansky is Mel Gibson's character's name in Mad Max. I think you don't know this until Road Warrior, where you see his name tag pinned to his jacket, which says "Rockatansky". I'm not super-hip on my George Miller trivia.

I am a big fan of Frederik Pohl and the Gateway books, Neil Gaiman, stuff like that...
Anymore, I mostly stick to history, poli-sci, bios, for entertainment.
Oh yeah, and George RR Martin.

Been in West Virginia in coal country for work. Had no internet access except at night and zero cell coverage during the day so haven't been keeping up on the thread of doom.
I'll see you guys tonight on MW3, I'm sure.

Too bad 4 days later our squad is going to end his fucking career. I hope to be in attendance at Soldier field for that historic moment. Anyone want to meet up (this might force me to actually buy the ticket and hotel)?

It's really really hard for me to get my head around the idea that Enderle, who is like a LESS mobile Rape Rothlesburger with a worse arm and worse decision making skills, is better than LaFavor who at least showed mobility and some pocket presence when he took snaps in pre-season two years ago.

Agreed MBP, but I'd still take McCown as an emergency guy. He did alright against Minny, and he might be a good mop-up guy if Campbell and Cutler both need to take a 4th quarter off to nurse minor injuries.

If Enderle is legit, he could beat out McCown in camp. Or he could be on the practice squad. Most likely we're keeping him to see how he does in a pre-season game. But I agree the prognosis is bleak (which is a shame, cause that's another draft pick we'll need to next year or the year after).

It would be nice if we picked up a young, athletic QB who can make up yards scrambling, as our third stringer next year (probably via the draft). If Cutty and Campbell go down, we'll need someone who can run for their lives.

Every roster should have one. A VY/Vick/Cam Newton type - the QB is part of the backfield, they should be able to run. You can do a lot of damage with a really mobile QB who can hit the short patterns.

lobotobear said May 9, 2012 at 12:00 am

have you guys seen this comm...of the four letter network..sheite! wouldn't want to be this guy::LOL!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxBBN3ZnYeU

The short answer? I disagree with you on what is natural and what isn't for obvious reasons because I believe the Bible is rich in wisdom concerning this matter. I look at homosexuality as a behavior that is not natural. Plain and simple. If it were, the human race would be extinct.

Sigh. Way to go, Grinch-o. Now, I have to return your Christmas present!

like I said, not worth arguing about and Trac is allowed to believe facts from whichever book he chooses.

Hence the age old battle between fact and faith. I simply choose fact, although unfortunately it's a LOT less comforting.

Btw, I liked the summation:

"Homosexuality in its myriad forms has been scientifically documented in more than 450 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, and other animals worldwide. Biological Exuberance is the first comprehensive account of the subject, bringing together accurate, accessible, and nonsensationalized information. Drawing upon a rich body of zoological research spanning more than two centuries, Bruce Bagemihl shows that animals engage in all types of nonreproductive sexual behavior. Sexual and gender expression in the animal world displays exuberant variety, including same-sex courtship, pair-bonding, sex, and co-parenting—even instances of lifelong homosexual bonding in species that do not have lifelong heterosexual bonding. "

Here in lies the flaw in your thinking MB. You have your view for various reasons I'm sure, some of which probably comes from the feeling of no harm to you, no foul. Right? Not that I'm equating homosexuality to pedophilia but if your logic is carried over to that group, society would really be in heap big trouble.

And I quote you MB from your earlier post: "From my perspective, no matter where it comes from, asking people not to be who they really are is a recipe for dis-ass-ter. IT never works out. never. "

Your logic doesn't work here now does it? And don't tell me pedophiles are repressed homosexuals. You are repulsed and disgusted by these kinds of perversions as I am because they are a threat to society and children? Were they born that way too? Or is age of consent in the eye of the offender?

I have never called anyone a fag or a homo. I've never ever bullied one(even in HS). I have never felt anything but compassion for most of them that I've met. I had an Uncle that died of Aids a young man. He missed out on so much that life had to offer him. Not all gay men suffer this fate but I'd be willing to bet you that the fear of that end is there.

And yet the Church sweeps pedophilia under the rug in a systemic fashion and condemns homosexuals.
It was a neat rhetorical flourish, Trac, but you're comparing an abusive behavior with a sexual orientation. That's your choice, and good for you for not abusing people because they don't like penises or vaginas when they're supposed to, but your rationale for condemning it is what gets them tied to fence posts, beaten to death with tire irons, and all kinds of other fun things that are socially acceptable in certain circles,
I just don't get the obsession (and for fuck sake, it is an obsession with alot of people) with what two consenting adults do in the bedroom - don't you think Jesus had bigger fish to fry?

Fair enough, I was referring specifically to the Catholic Church (hence the big C), although you can find plenty of Protestant examples of homophobia combined with blatant corruption in regards to sexual abuse scandals.

Read my words again Brownie. I have neither judged nor condemned. I have only said that if a person wishes to reap the Wisdom stored up in the scriptures they have to lives their lives according to them. Doesn't mean I'm perfect. Far from it. If others don't choose to, that is their choice. By the way, when was the last time you saw a bunch of Christians tie anyone to a post? It's been a while. If anyone's getting strung up down the road, it will be Christians. Dangerous thought and all that hate don't ya know.

I'm going to tiptoe here. When you start calling things "unnatural", that's pretty potent stuff.
Also, "if a person wishes to reap the Wisdom stored up in the scriptures they have to lives their lives according to them", means what exactly? Which scriptures? Which sins are big enough that they can't reap the wisdom of Christian theology? And who decides?

BTW, I'm not going to get into a debate over whether Christians are persecuted for their faith more than others - the fence post was a specific incident and you have to know what I'm referring to. And then we have this guy, Sean Harris of the Baptist Church (you may have seen this on the news recently):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jywdr7NyBw

It's all stupid and it's all contextual. An American Christian is highly, highly unlikely to face persecution for their faith. It has become near poltical anathema to express belief in anything other than Christian theology and attempt to hold higher public office. However, in different societies or different times, that's not always the case. There's lots of persecution of Christians occurring every day throughout various areas of Asia and Africa. It's all equally worthless bloodshed.

My guess is that the "unnatural" part stems in essence from a survival of species perspective. Clearly, homosexuality does not favor long-term survival. The interesting part is why this "aberration" keeps recurring.

I'm going to limit this conversation to a final answer on your question concerning wisdom for now. I don't think it would be profitable to go on an on. Christians believe the scriptures are God's will/wisdom. The Bible is Gods handbook for believers, no one else. If you don't believe the scriptures, they cannot benefit in the way they are intended to. If you believe the Bible and are a practicing Christian, you will strive to obey the scripture. If you do not believe, isn't it logical to admit that the wisdom contained with in it will be rejected. This is what I'm saying.

Well, it IS interesting inasmuch as it occurs elsewhere in the animal kingdom.
So, your second statement may not be the truism that it sounds like.
Sexual behavior that doesn't result in reproduction may not foster long-term survival of a -specific-combination of genes, but it may somehow act as a mechanism that promotes long-term survival of a species or family group of animals. Who knows? I'm sure there's some researcher out there trying to figure out why baboons would plug each other in the butt but I'm not googling it.
Why ever that is, it is an orientation, not a behavior.

Wisdom can be reaped from many sources, Trac. To reap only from one field when there are many, does not seem very wise to me. And the old testament is not so much wisdom, as it is bat-shit crazy. Killing people for working on the sabbath? Stoning women for wearing threads of more than two types of cloth? But as always, each to their own. Whatever works.

It's the 'church' and not the philosophies that are the problem. RC churches are emptying, and not surprisingly. If something isn't working after two thousand years, maybe it's time to move on. Ancient mysticism is not the way forward. That's why I dig Buddhism. Pay attention to the moment, not to the past. There is only the present. The past and the future do not exist. Buddha was cool - he used only logic and rationality, he didn't ask people to deal with things they couldn't get their heads around.

Those facts, particularly with the number of species he's mentioning, are not universaly held by biologists. I'd be interested to hear if they're even considered accurate by the majority of the research community.

"What, then, can we say were the lessons of Nuclear Winter? I believe the lesson was that with a catchy name, a strong policy position and an aggressive media campaign, nobody will dare to criticize the science, and in short order, a terminally weak thesis will be established as fact."

I agree with this statement wholeheartedly:
"Scientists best serve public policy by living within the ethics of science, not those of politics. If the scientific community will not unfrock the charlatans, the public will not discern the difference - science and the nation will suffer."

BTW, the example that Crichton gave that specifically pertained to climate change - Bjorn Lomborg - was, in retrospect, hilarious.
#1 - he is a political scientist and statistician, not an environmental (or physical, for that matter) scientist at all.

#2 - even he now says global warming is real and that it is a tremendously important issue.

As a red letter bible reader (meaning I put emphasis on all the red letters, which denote the words Jesus ACTUALLY SAID!) I always find it interesting when born agains latch onto concepts like abortion or homosexuality. I know for a fact that women were ending unwanted preganancies back when Jesus was around and I'm damn certain there were at least two gay guys around.. yet he didnt say a word about either. What he did actualy preach it seems most of his "followers" tend to disregard. But thats just my take

That's a very interesting view Sac. Specially since the Word is Jesus. Jesus also said that not one jot or tittle shall pass away. The Red Letter Jesus believed all the rest of it my friend. You may not like to hear that but it's true.

What about the enormous amount of biblical text that has dropped in and out of favor over the past four thousand years?
I've always been curious about that. It's certainly been a mutable text throughout the rise of the Christian Church, and one would probably be able to trace that back through the Torah as well. I would include the Koran as well but they seem to have done a stellar job of finalizing and enforcing a given version of it in the short duration of that religion's existence.

If you look at the orthodox movement (so I'm excluding Caarites of old, reform Jews of today, and various other groups)... you will not find a single verse of the Torah that has "fallen out of favor" period. Give me one counter-example.

That's the amazing thing about Judaism... you've got 3000 years of study building on itself very systematically. There's no other religion that can say that.

I just re-read that caveat. As long as you take the Orthodox version of the Torah and discard other sectarian (would heretical be appropriate?) versions that evolved at various points in Judaic history, it has been a consistent document? Am I interpreting that right or did I misunderstand?

Well, even according to reform and conservative jews, the Torah says what it says (no revisions to my knowledge). But yes, as long as you stay within the Orthodox world, the notion that the entire Torah is true, from G-d and "legally binding" has not changed.

I'll stay away from the word heretical... we can use sectarian. Though there is a good chance that whoever taught your religious studies class is considered a heretic by some orthodox Jews (I say this because it is true of pretty much 100% of jewish professors)..

Just re-read the earlier post. I can be a bit more general. The entire Jewish world to my knowledge agrees on precisely which words are and are not part of the Torah with the exception of exactly one letter.

One letter is disputed: Whether it is an Aleph or an Ayin (both letters are silent in modern Hebrew) in the name "Tzafnat Paneach" which Pharoah gives to Joseph after making him the czar of Egypt. Since the letters both have the same sound in the name, this dispute does not change the meaning of the Torah at all.

Also, on eother point. I think polygamy is a much better comparison to make to homosexuality than pedophelia. Essentially we're talking about consenting adults, love, commitment, etc etc. but different definitions of the who the parties should be in that kind of arrangement.

And there is certainly scientific research to support the notion that men are not wired to be with only one woman for life (and obviously plenty to the contrary as well).

Given that those who are sexually abused as children are statistically much more likely to sexually abuse others later in life, I doubt it. That doesn't mean all pedophiles are sexually abused as children or that all children who are abused grow up to be pedophiles. However, it makes it hard to make the argument that particular disorder is biological.

That is a convincing argument. I would be interested to see data on children of homosexual couples growing up to be homosexual versus children of heterosexual couples.

There is no consensus in the orthodox Jewish world on the nature/nurture question and homosexuality. Either way, there is a prohibition on homosexual acts, not on the state of being homosexual.

There is similarly no difference between the prohibition on eating pork (though some are born with more of a taste for it than others) and the prohibition of driving on Sabbath (though some are raised to enjoy walking and other are not). In both cases, the rule is the rule.

Does it really matter what a religion's feelings are on homosexuality though? At what point does one's own feelings and thoughts on the matter become secondary to a system of dogma? Adopting the prejudices of those who lived two thousand years ago, and three thousand in the case of the Torah, seems ... wrong.

The idea that an omnipotent being would communicate with people two thousand years ago, but not now ... seems inherently wrong also.

We need to think for ourselves given the vastly greater knowledge acquired since those times, instead of following ancient superstition. Religion and flags are dividing us.

Irish - that's a separate issue. I'm not commenting on (and usually stay away from) the discussion of whether we should be religious and whether we should do what the Torah says. I do, you don't, I'm not going to change your mind on a football blog.

But I am trying to provide accurate information, to the extent of my abilities, as to what the Torah says. Trac frequently gives his best understanding of his own religion's scriptural teachings. We both look at the same book (though he has an addendum that I don't hold by), but we don't read it the same. If the Xian interpretation does not match the Jewish one, I step in to correct the record.

So books 1 and 2 are very interesting (basically all story till the last 20% or so). Then book 3 gets into a lot of laws about sacrifices that aren't so applicable these days since there is no temple. Books 4 and 5 are sort of a mix, they alternate between really interesting narratives and fairly lengthy lists of laws and measures. Without some context, the legal stuff is hard to get through.

After the Torah, you've got all the prophets and "writings." Some of that stuff is very accesible, some of it is basically impossible to understand without help (that's what commentaries are for).

To my mind, the best bang for your buck, particularly if you're a gentile, is to get through Genesis (Book 1) and then find a commentary to go through it again.

Interesting point. I think the answer to that is that reproduction, more or less, is an act involving one man and one woman. If one man and two women are married, the act of reproduction has an extra person, hence you could argue that the union is "unnatural."

Obviously there are differences, but the parallel is closer in my opinion.

Breaking news. Cop harasses schizophrenic homeless guy, assaults him, and homeless guy runs. Cops beat him and taser him to death. Police are most likely going to be exonerated from all charges after an internal investigation that will never be released to the public, until a video shows up and now two officers are being charged with murder. Maybe we need more cameras to protect us from the police. Check out this video.
http://reason.com/blog/2012/05/08/the-da-just-released-surveillance-footag

This would be crazy if it was unusual, but it is not. Militarization of new police recruits is a fact. Many police mistakes, ie "deaths", are internally reviewed with no consequences. New police recruits in Wisconsin and northern Illinois do training at military bases, and they also do training at police training centers with automatic weapons. That is a fact. The new recruits, with their military buzz cuts, will not talk to "civilians" like myself. That is a fact. I know because I've worked with these morons for years.
Irish, your on the right track. We're losing basic freedoms right before our eyes, and most people just shrug it off or don't even notice.

I'd be more likely to believe that they were aware of the attempts and had plenty of intelligence on which to act ... and then somebody said, "No, wait a second here ... this could be good." In fact Bush was handed a document on it around the start of August .... that was probably the look on his face when sat in that classroom reading My Little Pony for 7 minutes or whatever. You could see it on his face "Shit. They really did it. Oh shit ...."

Air defence was stood down that day, right? Why? Buildings were rigged with explosives, why? Terrorists couldn't rig buildings with that much explosive.

It's not conspiracy theory. There's enough evidence to the contrary. Where there is evidence, there is no theory, it becomes a probability. People need to check out what Nick Rockefeller said to Aaron Russo and wake the fuck up. He said a 'world event' was going to happen and that Iraq and Afghanistan would be invaded as a result, and that people were going to be running around looking for a man in a cave.

It comes down to whether or not you believe Aaron Russo, but he seems like a nice, genuine man.

Unlike Ted Gunderson.

They knew it was going to happen and so they just sat back and let ti happen

Russo and Alex Jones were buddy-buddy before Russo died. Alex Jones is a cynical exploiter of the ultra-right conspiracy whackos; Russo went into la-la land after he got in some tax trouble in the 80's and gradually got further and further out in left field until he croaked. Whether he was nice or not, who knows, but you can be personable and completely off your rocker at the same time.
And you keep saying "they" - please elaborate.

The most disappointing thing to me about these conspiracy theories is that they continually wash ashore like the pieces of some long ago shipwreck. Irish, I would ask if you'd spend the time to trace the backgrounds of some of the theories and proponents of these theories that you post. I think you'd be wildly disgusted to find the bigger circles that these people run in. They tend to be full to the brim of anti-semitics and racists.

You don't have to believe in this crazy shit to believe that we should be doing a better job as Americans of defending our civil liberties.

To me, Alex Jones is that guy making a dollar off any old conspiracy. He'll jump on any bandwagon to make a buck. Aaron Russo was already relatively wealthy though.

Thing is, I never, ever, mentioned Alex Jones .....

Aaron Russo made a very interesting film regarding the Fed, taxation, and RFID chipping. He also happened to have some very interesting things to say - which happened to be in an interview with Alex Jones, his last ever. The interview is over an hour and a half, but here's the Rockefeller extract, it's about 12 minutes long. I'd be interested on your thoughts on this, he does not appear to be lying or deceitful, just a nice guy sharing a conversation he had with one of these power elite fuckers.

So, think this through:
You're a tax-evading ex-Hollywood producer who makes an anti-government documentary. So an attorney then introduces you to "Nicholas Rockefeller", who decides that you are just the guy to "recruit" into the "Council on Foreign Relations" and like a Bond villain, he conveniently then fills you in on the secret protocols and plans for world takeover? Where they're going to put RFID chips in everyone?

Really?
Is he personable? Sure? Plausible? Uh, no.
The comments about women's lib by themselves are just enormously strange...

The ordinary reaction to someone telling you that the CIA funded women's magazines in order to enslave them to the NWO would be to say,
"Uh, really? That sounds strange. How do you know that?"
not,
"Oh, really? I didn't know that...I mean, I knew that, but I didn't know that."

What's implausible about wanting to get women out of the house and taxing 50% of the population ? They need all kinds of people in the CFR, a film-maker or two wouldn't hurt. I'd trust a guy like Russo before I'd trust any of the Rocfefellers or Rothschilds - they live on a different planet. They see us as slaves and sheep to be done with as they please. I didn't see any body language in that interview to suggest Russo was lying, not a flicker. His legal status, health or otherwise doesn't come into it. It comes down to whether one believes that conversation happened, and based purely on body language he appears to be telling the truth. The Rockefellers funded both the axis and allied forces in WWII - you can't trust fuckers like that. At least it's safer not to.

He doesn't have to be "lying"; he just has to be merely deluded, whether self-inflicted or not.
And he sure comes off that way.
BTW, think through the taxation argument, ignoring for the moment the idea that women absolutely should have been on a level playing field with men as a human rights issue...
I dunno, man - I don't know what else to tell you if you just take this stuff seriously at face value.

Okay 12 minutes ccan be a lot of time to invest for some folk, here was the gist of what was said (from PrisonPlanet):

Hollywood director and documentary film maker Aaron Russo has gone in-depth on the astounding admissions of Nick Rockefeller, who personally told him that the elite's ultimate goal was to create a microchipped population and that the war on terror was a hoax, Rockefeller having predicted an "event" that would trigger the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan eleven months before 9/11.

Rockefeller also told Russo that his family's foundation had created and bankrolled the women's liberation movement in order to destroy the family and that population reduction was a fundamental aim of the global elite.

Russo is perhaps best known for producing Trading Places starring Eddie Murphy but was more recently in the spotlight for his exposé of the criminal run for profit federal reserve system, the documentary America From Freedom to Fascism.

Currently undergoing more treatment in his fight against cancer, Russo made time for a sit down interview with radio host and fellow documentary film maker Alex Jones in which he dropped bombshell after bombshell on what Rockefeller had told him about the direction the world was being steered towards by the global elite.

After his popular video Mad As Hell was released and he began his campaign to become Governor of Nevada, Russo was noticed by Rockefeller and introduced to him by a female attorney. Seeing Russo's passion and ability to affect change, Rockefeller set about on a subtle mission to recruit Russo into the elite.

During one conversation, Rockefeller asked Russo if he was interested in joining the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) but Russo rejected the invitation, saying he had no interest in "enslaving the people" to which Rockefeller coldly questioned why he cared about the "serfs."

"I used to say to him what's the point of all this," states Russo, "you have all the money in the world you need, you have all the power you need, what's the point, what's the end goal?" to which Rockefeller replied (paraphrasing), "The end goal is to get everybody chipped, to control the whole society, to have the bankers and the elite people control the world."

Rockefeller even assured Russo that if he joined the elite his chip would be specially marked so as to avoid undue inspection by the authorities.

Russo states that Rockefeller told him, "Eleven months before 9/11 happened there was going to be an event and out of that event we were going to invade Afghanistan to run pipelines through the Caspian sea, we were going to invade Iraq to take over the oil fields and establish a base in the Middle East, and we'd go after Chavez in Venezuela."

Rockefeller also told Russo that he would see soldiers looking in caves in Afghanistan and Pakistan for Osama bin Laden and that there would be an "Endless war on terror where there's no real enemy and the whole thing is a giant hoax," so that "the government could take over the American people," according to Russo, who said that Rockefeller was cynically laughing and joking as he made the astounding prediction.

In a later conversation, Rockefeller asked Russo what he thought women's liberation was about. Russo's response that he thought it was about the right to work and receive equal pay as men, just as they had won the right to vote, caused Rockefeller to laughingly retort, "You're an idiot! Let me tell you what that was about, we the Rockefeller's funded that, we funded women's lib, we're the one's who got all of the newspapers and television - the Rockefeller Foundation."

Rockefeller told Russo of two primary reasons why the elite bankrolled women's lib, one because before women's lib the bankers couldn't tax half the population and two because it allowed them to get children in school at an earlier age, enabling them to be indoctrinated into accepting the state as the primary family, breaking up the traditional family model.

This revelation dovetails previous admissions on behalf of feminist pioneer Gloria Steinem (pictured) that the CIA bankrolled Ms. Magazine as part of the same agenda of breaking up traditional family models.

Rockefeller was often keen to stress his idea that "the people have to be ruled" by an elite and that one of the tools of such power was population reduction, that there were "too many people in the world," and world population numbers should be reduced by at least half.

One issue which has spiraled out of control of the elite according to Rockefeller's conversations with Russo, is the Israel-Palestine conflict, with serious thinking at one stage revolving around the bizarre notion of giving Israeli citizens one million dollars each and relocating them all in the state of Arizona.

Who is Devin Burghart more to the point .....
...isn't Aaron Russo Jewish ? If Jones was an anti-semite, would they be buddy buddy like that? If he has a bone to pick with the Rothschilds, or other people who happen to be Jewish, it doesn't make him an anti-semite. Jimmy Carter called what was happening in Israel as being Apartheid, and he gets branded an anti-semite.

In the interest of balance however, there was this article in the NY times refuting some 'facts' re taxation in Mr. Russo's film.

Jimmy Carter wasn't claiming that a handful of Jewish bankers were in a secret society that controlled the world - he was arguing against Israel's approach to handling the Palestinian conflict. And whether you agree with him or not, I'm not EVEN going go down that road as it has zero to do with this.
I mean, have you heard of "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion"? Do you understand where it came from? It's essentially become the blueprint for this NWO garbage that gets spouted today.
And as for Jones being an anti-semite or not, he panders to them enough:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXQzSXlPQso

On the tax stuff, I don't know .... there's a lot of legal shit there that's beyond my ken - you'd have to delve heavily into all of that. That was the one aspect of his film that should have provoked a lot more discussion if there was anything to it.

I had come across the Federal reserve stuff independently, on that he's not deluded. The government should have control of the supply of money and its volume, and they don't. This happens in a lot of countries, and though it may not be illegal, it should not be permitted by the people. It's a nation killer, and I believe U.S. governments have regained control of the currency something like five times e.g. Lincoln's greenbacks.

I am grateful for you keeping me straight here and there, it's hard to qualify stuff sometimes when you're not living in the country you're reading about. Gunderson for example, I never would have looked into him other than the interviews I saw. You're right, you have to be careful about taking stuff at face value. You see 'former FBI chief' beside someone's name and you can let your guard slip and take him seriously if you don't know his past.

Yeah, I knew Russo was dead, but he didn't seem deluded to me. Maybe a man that wanted to set the record straight before he met his maker?

Hey, all things are possible under heaven and earth - I just don't think it's very probable. The story just doesn't hold up for me, even before you get to the specifics of what he's claiming.

When it comes to the Fed - look, if you don't think private banks should be involved in the money supply and think there are rational reasons that Congress should be directly involved in controlling the money supply, as opposed to oversight of the Fed, then OK. I don't have to agree, but it's fair game. I just don't think you have to believe that there's a sinister cabal dating back a hundred years aiming for world control in order to dislike the banking system. To be honest, it marginalizes criticisms of the Fed Reserve and its actions when they are couched in conspiracy terms.

MBP, sure. But anti-zionism comes in a lot of different flavors. You have anti-semites who don't like Israel (idiots to the last man). And you have those who feel Israel as a modern country should not exist because it is a secular government (this is a big group with crazies and reasonable poeple and everything in between). And then you have those that felt the Israeli state should not be founded because it would endanger Jewish lives, but now that it exists it must be protected because failing to do so would also endanger Jewish lives (and here again, you have the reasonable folks and the crazies).

Right - I saw some mentions of that in the book I am finishing up and then caught some references on-line to specific groups of Hasidic Jews in the US that fall in the second category. Thought that was interesting stuff.
I always learn something new when these conversations get kicked off.
It never, ever fails to make me dig deeper into topics.

On average, a human produces half a liter of fart gas a day... If that's the case, there are 10 people in the world who don't produce any fart gas (I'm guessing meth addicts), and I make up for their statistical deviation to bring us right back to the mean.

I fart all day. Everyday.

When I first started dating my wife, I used to hold those fuckers in. That will give you some serious stomach pain. You can seriously feel each enslaved fart begging to be freed until it bubbles in your stomach and dissolves.

Where do these tortured fart fetuses go? My guess is they come out in your breath.

Do you think Goodell rolled up to Mr. And Mrs. Seau's house with a black briefcase and walked inside and opened that puppy up with it's Swiss codes, and suddenly - magically - the family reverses the decision to donate Junior's brain?

There was a real good interview with Moose Johnson the other day. Most of the retired players view these concussion lawsuits as an opportunity for a 2nd pot of gold. He was very candid in explaining how players know the risks that come with the game.

Why is it that we quote a announcer like Moose, who we know is going to tow the party line of the NFL that "everybody knew what they were getting" and ignore the Jimmy Macs and Hillyenmeyers who completely contradict that assertion?

Is it because it's simply easier to hear? A rationalization that goes down like an easy tonic, that makes watching subsequent seasons easier on the old guilt?

Another comment he made was, "We just had a re-union with all the guys from my old team and I was very proud of them. To a man, they all said they weren't interested at all in joining in on the lawsuit". Hmmmm.

my favorite line is:
Jeffery also turned down an invitation to attend the 2012 NFL Rookie Premiere, an annual event at which selected rookies are flown to Los Angeles to be photographed for their NFL player cards, in order to spend more time participating in the Bears' offseason program, according to a league source.

But in all seriousness, just because a guy comes from a bad organization doesn't mean he's bad himself (look where Emery came from). Just because a guy comes from a good organization isn't a guarantee the other way either (look at pretty much every head coach that's come out of New England).

NBIT...I know that's why I'm wondering if anyone has the heads up on this guy...

I do love one thing, that E-Train is flipping every possible rock, log and leaf for our scouting...

This guy is "f"ing methodical machine in his ways!!!! I really don't think anything will get by him...including "SuperMario" I get the feeling he wanted him, but Bills just offered more $$$$...too bad because I think hey fucked himself..especially when we are in the dance getting a ring and he's home pulling his pud watching the game on his HDTV...

Fish say..btw Brandon we traded your arse.
response..."The Beast"..btw too "F" you and another note....good luck with your sheite QB..I was fucking lucky to get the numbers I got with the lame-ass...even JR couldn't of done better....and one last thing beyouch..I'm going to play ball with a real team and an "F" Canon firing BADASS!!...I hope you sleep with the fishes!

i predict that, the kid in that shot will be teased mercilessly through college, and that any and all benefits of his long breastfeeding exposure will be negated by the abject torment that picture brings him.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 10, 2012 at 12:00 am

The only position I really expected Emery to address in the draft that he didn't was the DT position. If you think about it, out of all our needs, there's no way he could have filled all of them in the draft.

Well, if Pressley makes the rotation we get to call him Elvis, that's all I care about. Sheamus, Elvis, Izzy, Muscles, Big Toe, Meltdown and Peppers. Throw in Briggsy, Child Support and CockRoach, with Peanut, TJ and DJ ... and that's our superbowl D.

Add me for a quick MW3 kill...I suck. Have not mastered shooting the dumb gun, but I think it is cool....widowmaker505...Anyway, once again, did anyone watch Boozer? I am a Bulls fan, but not as much as the Bears....Holy hell..If the Bears had the Boozer equivalent, I would strictly have a freaking heart attack. That guy is damn horrible. No hustle, no desire. Why do they put him out there?!...No that the Bulls are over, focus on Da Bears...Bear Down!!

As bad as boozer was, the bulls were still in position to win all CJ had to do was keep the ball. Throw in the fact that if the refs had called the CLEAR flagrant on Asik by Hawes, Bulls would have retained possession. But let's just ignore this awful basketball season and gear up for da bears in September!

I know it's hard to tell what kind of a player O-Lineman are by just looking at their pictures but is seems kinda obvious to me why Gallery hasn't lived up to expectations. His 2004 Combine photo looks like he's a big, weak doob. Compare that with this 2011 photo which makes him look like a lazy slob who's let himself go. Not the kinda beefy body style you expect to see from a guy that was supposed to be a stud in the NFL.

Most teams have to do this at some point in time during the season depending on which positions get thin due to injuries. Its not wonderful that we're doing it before the first snap, but keep in mind these guys aren't going to get a whole lot of playing time.

Also, whoever we pick up to fill up the roster for training camp could be cut before the season, and possibly replaced by better players cut by other teams.

Maranelli worked them out, right? He must have seen something - one of the guys was a first round pick, so that means he's got something in the locker. DT should be the biggest competition in camp. Love it. Boys'll have to bring their A-game on every snap.

Yeah, it doesn't worry me - I like the fact they're going to push the incumbents at DT. I don't expect any of these guys to make the final roster but if they get some extra motivation going, that's good.

You mean I spent my $200,000 life savings on freeze-dried unflavored protein pellets and 9,765 cases of ramen, guns/ammo, and the buried freight container with the flamethrower handrail all for naught?!?!

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 12, 2012 at 12:00 am

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 11, 2012 at 12:00 am

Trac, Daniel Day Lewis is a star actor. Sammy Jackson plays himself in every fucking movie. He is called a movie star.

Actor = a person that can transform his/herself into the character they are playing in a believable fashion. (ie. Daniel Day Lewis, Meryl Streep, Christian Bale, Kate Winslet)

Movie Star = a celebrity that is cast in various roles like doctor, lawyer, detective, solider yet that brings nothing to the table that any other celebrity could bring. (ie. jennifer aniston, samuel l jackson, Mark Wahlberg, Katie Holmes)

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 12, 2012 at 12:00 am

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 11, 2012 at 12:00 am

Whoa. Y'all take a chill. You got to cool that shit off. And that's the double-truth, Ruth

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 11, 2012 at 12:00 am

Doc and I just messed up some rooskies on a snowmobile co-op mission, he said he'll be on later.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 11, 2012 at 12:00 am

Daniel, top man. But I'm not buying him playing Jules in Pulp Fiction. The word 'Character' goes before 'Actor' in the definition above to make it fit. Samuel is definitely an actor, just not a character actor like Sean Penn. He plays bad-ass dudes because character actors would struggle with bad-ass. Ben Kingsley pulled it off with Don Logan in Sexy Beast, but not many can.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 13, 2012 at 12:00 am

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 11, 2012 at 12:00 am

Mike Tice on Gabe Carimi: "He's right on track. We expect to see him at some point before the [offseason] session is over."

Mike Tice on Alshon Jeffery: "He was picking peanuts off some guys' heads." (Football term for catching ball over someone. Who knew?)

Mike Tice says the Bears have installed their entire offense twice. They'll go through it again during OTAs and training camp.
#Bears WR Alshon Jeffery left practice early. Lovie Smith says he cramped up

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 12, 2012 at 12:00 am

whatever is going on in your life, it's not that bad: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/11/mom-video-blind-son-cleft-lip-palate_n_1509939.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D160266

well me and
tom petty's buried treasure
just made it through
the soon to be
ruthian thread
my the korzibsky factor abounds aplenty

still riding that 6 and ten train
with the added help
of the texas brute squad
inspecting operations team
breathing down my neck
while they doodle on their pads
as they rode my left hip all 6 days
i am way too old
for this shit

i was so happy
to read tonight about our new wave
seems like we got some
possibilities in the package
who's loyalty to the 'cause
inspires multiple thoughts of
points points points
and downed ball carrying foes
watching seagulls circle the lakefront sky
let the hardwork be multiplied
success is knockin' and it wants in

That kid will probably bring his parents more satisfaction than most people can imagine. So many special needs kids bring their parents more love and joy than we could ever imagine. My guess is in a couple years his parents wont think its bad at all, and will feel blessed to have Christian in their lives. I have seen it first hand. I wish them nothing but the best from here on out.

So far, Brown has been used at left tackle and left guard. Smith said the Bears don't want to pin him into any specific position yet and it will be "fun" to see where he fits best. Brown started 38 games at left tackle in college but struggled a little with quickness on the edge at the Senior Bowl. Some scouts suggest he might be best on the interior.

The last couple of Pack games, we got lit up by Roach clip trying to cover Finley on seam and go routes. We had absolutely no answer for that guy.

If you recall, at one point they brought Graham in to try and stay with him, or perhaps Graham went to corner and it was Peanut on him for the height, I think that was it.

Those types of H-back and slot routes will be the Rodruqiez domain. He seems way too small to be lined up next to tackle on run plays, but in the H-back slot and in the 3-wide slot, he could force teams like the Pack to deploy the nickel. And I think that is the plan.

Every once in a while these guys step up and do some good shit.
Makes ya forget all the bad ones!
http://video.foxnews.com/v/1635748674001/nfl-player-invited-to-high-school-prom/?playlist_id=86856&intcmp=obnetwork

i was there for that show
the set for levon began
with mr. dylan's
blind willie mctell
i read rolling stones
tribute article
and it was sad to read
that levon and mr robertson
saw some things differently
all the way to the end
do not know if he would have
been happy being honored
with one of robertson's
best efforts
keep the peace

They didn't draft a tight end. Rodriguez is an H-back. He's either going to be amazing and play 3-4 positions really well, or be terrible and be not quite good at any of those positions to stay on the team.

The more I think about it, the more I think the NFLPA and NFL should get together on the following terms.

1) Free tuition for NFL retirees who want to go back to college. (Per Matt Bowen, already exists up to $15K/yr, which is plenty).
2) Creation of an independant, not-for-profit, cost-free group of consultants who help players create business plans and find professionals (lawyers, accountants, etc.) who can manage outside business opportunities.
3) Lifetime health insurance for any player who appears on the active roster during any regular season game.
4) Required contribution of 25% of base salary per year, plus increasing percentage up to 50% of any additional salary earnings (over $5 million/yr) to a retirement account not accesible during a player's career.
5) Mandatory attendance at post career counseling for access to any of those retirement funds in the first 5 years after a player retires (that's the kicker that gets them in the door - and if they say no, they at least have 5 years to mature a bit).
6) Post career counseling includes: financial counseling, psych counseling and regular medical check-ups. I'd alos be open to include drug testing.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 13, 2012 at 12:00 am

That was my initial thought, but a lot of companies have mandatory retirement contributions. Plus, if they use slightly softer percentages (say 10% mandatory) and introduce matching contributions beyond that (up to, say, $1 million), there's more opportunity to learn.

You have to remember, these guys are specifically put in a situation all through college where there is no opportunity to learn how to manage money. Then they are required (see Jefferey) to be put in situations where blood-sucking media types and various other dangerous characters get to tell them how great they are and how they'll be big forever. Then they are given ridiculous amounts of money and not real guarantee for when it will run out. Then they are put in the fame bubble where its almost impossible to find people you can trust.

There needs to be some balance. They can take half of their paychecks and blow them on bling. But there's got to be a counter-balance or its more of the same.

Can't they still borrow against their retirement? Meh. This all goes back to how our society has become dependent on some program to save the day. Teach the children accountability and they will have a fighting chance when they get older. Don't see how that will ever happen though.

Bye the bye, I read somewhere last week that 80% of all the worlds pain pills are consumed by Americans. I wonder what this says about our society?

I think you know what it says about the American society. They're a bunch of pill popping freaks. That's why it's so obvious it's nuts to not legalize and tax pot. Or if you prefer the Netherlands way of doing business, tolerated and taxed. There is so much tax money just laying there waiting to be scooped up and the only reason most politicians don't have the stones (see how I did that?) to grab it is the Medical community pours millions into their pockets. It's nuts. Pot has this huge stigma about it but let's be honest, people are robbing pharmacies and other people to get their hands on prescription drugs (mostly painkillers). A guy like Rush can be a total oxycontin addict, say he was weak and semi-apologize and it's like it never happened. A guy gets caught with a bunch of weed, meth or crack and he's in jail. If it's coke and he's rich, probably goes to rehab and that all. Pretty fucked up. Pot is the least harmful of the bunch. I'm not saying it isn't harmful, it is. But that hooey about it being a gateway drug is a load of shit. Most kids find out about drugs and try their first ones out of the medicine cabinet or mom's purse.

Pot isn't harmful in itself, or at least the EU lists it in the same bracket as caffeine and chocolate. Alcohol on the other hand is a certified poison. Smoking is obviously not great for you.

But yeah, when all those mothers were reading the riot act at us when we were young, their handbags were full of valium. There are 17+ million people on anti-depressants alone in the U.S. among the adult population. Kids who exhibit any signs of being a kid are dosed up on ritalin. Throw in painkillers and widespread alcohol abuse and it's not surprising that all remaining liberties have been taken from the people, everybody's off their faces.

I thought doctors took an oath to do no harm? Drug dealers, each and every one.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 14, 2012 at 12:00 am

New Bear, the problem is that we treat these guys like they are fucking retarded and can't somehow function in the world at age 28-32 when they retire. These are guys that can grasp the most complex sports related concepts because they practice and dedicate themselves to the craft. If it sounds familiar it's because it exactly what almost all successful normal professionals do in the workforce.

I agree about some form of holdback but the other stuff already exists and should be available to everyone, not just someone who can catch a pass.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 14, 2012 at 12:00 am

the other part that makes me scratch my head is how alot of people feel that an athlete should be able to make so much money so they can set themselves up for the next 30-50 years of your life. A fucking half of a century for a couple years work? It can work in some cases but if you make 1.8 million a year and you live like you make 3 and then you retire and live like you still make that salary that is no ones fault but their own. My income dropped from 2007 2008 levels so I cut back. Now I only spend 1,000 a week on coke and hookers instead of 4,000. Now that is some sound financial planning. Also, I chose not to buy the 10,000 serval cat i had my eye on and chose to go with fluffy from the local no kill shelter. #sacrifices.

Bling - gold in particular - would have been way more solid than property investments anyway. Anyone who OG'd is laughing all the way to the bank.

Are we really supposed to feel sorry for these guys? Do we pass the hat around?

Given that they make more in a year than most people do in a lifetime, it's hard to weep for them. The 'hardships' about life in the NFL, I just don't wanna hear it. They're living the dream while the rest of us - most of us - struggle to make ends meet and constantly worry about money. I'd take painkillers and two-a-days over clocking in 9-5 for peanuts any old day of the week. Sign me up.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 14, 2012 at 12:00 am

Army's not exactly known for great wide recievers. But he's going to have to be a great run blocker with the kind of offense they run over there. If he can develop recieving chops he'd be a monster TE.

But at 6'10, you've gotta wonder if he has the ability to cut into any of his routes. Tall recievers frequently get dominated by shorter corners because they can't get separation with their gazelle legs. He'll need to work on a few chops if he wants to compete, even against a linebacker.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 14, 2012 at 12:00 am

Catching balls in the NFL is a lot harder than it looks. I thought for sure that Fantuz kid (best WR in Canadian football) would at least be a decent change of pace guy. But he didn't even make it through the preseason. Blocking is great and all, but you've got to be able to at least threaten to catch the ball if you want to play TE - otherwise he's just an undersized tackle.

C'mon mang, he could literally stand in the middle of the field and go "Yo Jay, I'm open!" ... and he always will be. You'd have cornerbacks climbing up on top of other cornerback's shoulder pads and they still couldn't swat it away :o)

"I’m 6-10, 290 pounds. It’s hard to look myself in the mirror and not ask why I’m not playing football."

Fucking affirmative soldier. You're signed! I don't care if he can't play football, just tell him to go past the first down line, turn around, and put his hands up. Have we signed him yet? What are they waiting for?

I just came up with a brilliant way to tackle the health care issue in this country. Instead of carbon credits(this idea needs to be permanently shit canned by the way), how about fully transferable health care credits? You could sell the ones you own in your plan or give them away to a person in need of your choice. Hmmmm, very intriguing. It could work you know. Wow, a plan that could please every red blooded American and yellow dog commie at the same time. What say you GP?

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 14, 2012 at 12:00 am

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 14, 2012 at 12:00 am

Carbon credits are supposed to encourage efficiency by monetizing something the was previously not fungible. Essentially, you are creating a market where one did not exist before in the hope that market forces will create industry-wide change for the good. So the companies are encouraged to maximize their output from necessary polution, and "green" products that reduce polution can more easily show their customers how going green saves money.

Health care is already fungible, really too fungible. The goal of social healthcare isn't supposed to be to maximize profit (these are people, not corporations) and healthcare services aren't a "necessary evil" like polution.

Well for starters, if I gave a friend or relative some of my health credits, 1) it would provide for a need, 2) if would seriously bring down the amount of people that go to the ER for a runny nose, 3) people would be more appreciative of a gift like that because they would know that a friend or relative is going to have to sacrifice in order to take advantage of their generosity. It would also inadvertently foster more cordial relations between people because they'd find out real fast that being a dick wouldn't pay if when they get sick. I know, dream on, right?

I enjoy the idea of giving kids "the gift of giving" by giving them some money that they are not allowed to keep, but have to give to some charitable cause. It teaches good behavior and fosters a love of giving. But the government can't do that with healthcare benefits.

Plus, your program would mean that someone with no friends would not get coverage, while someone with friends would. That just doesn't strike me as the right reason to give healthcare to one person and not another.

from experience
i reside in one
of theeeeeee
wealthiest communities
and they don't do
squat, that's right
squat
to create a
societal experience
that provides for the social needs
of the retarded
this place is flush with "political" $
but do not believe
that crap about charity and gratitude
there are pockets
in the country where justice
is served
but these beings are the hidden
horror
that we as a people
choose to ignore
as a people we do not do well
with the grotesque
but. once we encounter
our concepts
the system is profoundly
changed

No one is holding a gun to your head. You are perfectly free to renounce your citizenship if American society is just too damn oppressive for your taste. Or vote and get what you want.
When all the John Galts of the world are sitting around in a gulch, wondering which one of them is going to get stuck doing the dishes, the knives will come out.

Your understanding of history is woefully different, and frankly factually lacking if you think the kindness of strangers has been sufficient in the past for the poor, the elderly, or the sick. Why do you think Medicare was brought about in the first place?
This meme that doctors, who complain now about providing medical services at Medicare reimbursement rates, would altruistically donate their services to the poor and elderly at $5 an hour or something else equally absurd (I seem to recall someone suggesting taking chickens in trade not too long ago), well, it's pretty fucking absurd. The ones who will are already doing it, as with Doctors Without Borders. That's a miniscule subset of the health care industry - woefully inadequate for the need.

I remember reading an article from the Kenosha News right after college, about 1995. There was a lofty article about how less than 20 students were "volunteering" for the AmeriCorps programs. The program was costing over $190,000 per year. That is over $9,500 per student, to "volunteer". This was at a time when tuition at UW-Parkside was less than $4,000 for the YEAR! I have a lost cousin who thinks she "served her country" as part of AmeriCorp for over 5 years. Look at the math. I don't know for sure, but based on experience I'm sure that "service" is much more expensive today. I'm not sure what my point is, other than Gov't involvement bastardizes the worth of that "service".

So you're saying that community service is less worthwhile than college at UW-Parkside? Having spent my years at a private college in the upper Midwest, I'm not sure I'd agree with that assessment, Corm.

This carbon thing is a joke. I think it's just another way to tax people. They take your income tax and then they hit you over the head for a hundred other taxes ... they're trying to squeeze blood from a stone.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 14, 2012 at 12:00 am

Levi Horn was one of those huge framed skinny fat guys. I don't even know how to fucking explain it. he was just awkward. That's great for 8th grade and highschool but this is the big boy league maing. we need straight up killin ass ballers. Just draft the Wisconsin line every fucking year. We'd have Carimi, Moffitt and Zeitler right now.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 14, 2012 at 12:00 am

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 14, 2012 at 12:00 am

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 14, 2012 at 12:00 am

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 14, 2012 at 12:00 am

I don't follow Trac's whole medical whathaveyounot. Sounds a whole lot like sum of dat commie medicine, right there. Not what we fought the Krauts in the big one for.

But, and this here is the God's honest truth, employers are making managers submit the cholesterol, body fat and BP of their employees. If your team is out of shape, they are penalizing departmental budgets to disproportionately kick into the insurance pool.

So, get the crawdad's out of your overalls, boys. Weez a goin to the gymnasium, get one of dem medicine balls to throw about, and get ourselves in crack shape. No fatties.

Yep, you're right GP. I have a problem with our current Tort. John Edwards is the poster child for what is wrong with it. It's obvious you have given this matter a lot of thought from a legal perspective, I just happen to think the current state of our legal system is perverted. Have you put a dollar figure on a settlement yet? If so, I'd be interested to know what you think it will be.

Before there can be talk of damages, there has to be clear proof that the NFL conspired to hide information that should have been conveyed to the players and the public.

That will be very very hard to prove, and I doubt many players like Jimmy Mac, Hunter and others will see much of anything from the NFL. They will go to great lengths to shut down the slippery slope of liability. To mix a metaphor.

So, I think the settlement might be a good will gesture of extending the paid insurance pool to some ex-players for medical treatment, but no cash settlements.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 15, 2012 at 12:00 am

Jimmy would be a tough case by itself. Who knows if the majority of the damage is from the case of beer he drinks a day or the hits to the head. He is also the guy you couldn't get off the field even if he was concussed. He embodied the old spirit. Coaches looked down upon guys tapping out but so did the players themselves.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 15, 2012 at 12:00 am

Good point on the memory. I've had a few concussions in my time, and like Jimmy I can walk into a room and forget why I walked into the room ... but how much of that is alcohol-related? Whatever about concussions, alcohol definitely kills brain cells, and you don't grow new ones.

No love for the other Devin, Artoo? I'd imagine he'd have a bigger impact than Weems, the guy is 6'2. We know Brandon will bring the hosue down this year, but the true #2 has yet to reveal himself methinks. Hester will always have the problem of shielding the ball as a knock against him - he has to catch it on the fly. Thomas and Jeffrey (and obviously Marshall) don't have to worry so much about that.

Nice, Artoo. I love this :
Darryl Drake (Bears Wide Receiver Coach)- "And let me tell you something about Devin Hester, you got to know how I feel about him: All we've got to do is use him. That's all we have to do, and you'll see what kind of player he is, period.

Yeah, Darryl, the dude is 30 years old, what the hell were you doing with him since forever?

Good summary of the sources you cited. What none of them addressed was, what the hell is the Hester package going to be?

When he takes the field, people think: bubble screen or streak down the field. Bubble screen I've seen work once in about 20 tries. Hester as the deep threat in a bunch config would work to free up space. Or maybe some kind of pick play. A good D will be prepared for those options, though.

Lots of teams have speed guys, Hester can and should be ours. But it takes a lot of gas to be that guy and he needs to conserve his for returns. I just don't see a way. Maybe Tice does. I wonder of Bowen thinks the Hester package would look like.

4 years of miserable misery miserable fuck misery fuck isn't enough for them? Oh, we'll get rid of the wizard and our sack of shit line will instantly be transformed into a sweet fucking Georgia peach?!?! Really?

What the fuck is this revolving door of garbage strategy? Jesus, I thought that after angelo got shitcanned I would never have to talk about our pathetic, anemic, junkbond line again and the idiots not fixing it.

Holy fuck I must not know something they know. Does mike tice have a fucking harry potter stick thingy? FML.

btw, I will add that I think we'll make it work somehow... but that cutty will still be running for his life unnecessarily. I just hope he doesn't get hurt maings.

We're going to kick major ass this year, but we could have been that much more solid along both lines if there would have been just one or two good moves made.

Franklin and/or moffitt last year, and a late flyer on whatsisface this year instead of our 3rd string return guy. just zero focus on the oline and not enough on the D. Hope it doesn't derail what could very well be a SB run year.

Yeah, but is there anyone out there who can play LT to our satisfaction? I think it's sink or swim with who we've got. I don't expect the line to not suck until the right configuration is found, then it'll take 2-3 more weeks before any cohesion is seen. So, week 6, let's say. There is going to be a lot of bitching here, from me included, for those 6 weeks.

It'll be doubly frustrating because we won't see our WRs shine 'til then. Jesus I can't believe it's only May.

Cutler stopped tweeting. This is good. He's going to have a baby, and football, to attend to. That's enough.

The difference between Jensen and Rosenbloom. Jensen, correctly, points out that Cutler did not complain about the lack of drafting an offensive lineman, but also did not give the party line that the O-line is fine. Cutler's ideas for what the Bears need to do (and whether he would have done anything differently at all) is still a question mark. That's called good reporting.

Rosenbloom, in line with NFL.com's steady move away from quality journalism and toward general hackery, basically ignores what Cutler said and decides to re-type what he himself previously said.

Rosenbloom writes: "He's essentially questioning the team's strategy to not draft offensive linemen." No, no he is not. If Cutler said there was a great O-lineman available at a spot where it was a good value pickup, I'd agree with Rosenbloom. But he didn't. Instead, Emery and a bunch of other GMs all got very nervous with what looked like a weak class of tackles. Cutler might be wishing for more talent on the line, but he never said that the answer to his concerns was sitting at #19 or #50 or anywhere else in the draft.

Cutler's smart enough to understand that drafting O-lineman does not equal drafting good O-linemen. Apparently Gregg Rosenbloom does not.

Wow, pretty amazing. I bet we start to see more and more of this. Unless you're 'guaranteed' some money and a shot at a reasonable career... and you don't have any other optys in the real world, I bet we'll start to see more and more of this: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/law-school-nfl-ohio-state-linebacker-chooses-torts-190045948.html

Trac..the only thing I got out of the article was that he was concerned...gee I wonder why after how many fucking sacks!!! and that Ticey will be moving the players around until they get it right, and Cutty hopes it's sooner than later.

I posted a couple of weeks ago that the Bears have some of the dumbest fans on the planet. Exhibit A. I get that talk radio has to drum up phony controversies to fill up air space. I don't get people that are so stupid they fall for it.

It reminds me of the douchebags from the 'burbs that would go to the small Catholic University in my home town (about 3 hours from Chicago). These jackasses would all act like they were big city, big shots in Hooterville. Once in a while they would take their act to the wrong bar in the district about 6 blocks away. One of the local toughs were more than willing to let them know that shit didn't play too well.

Yup, he said what every Bears fan is wondering/hoping i.e. that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. However, his response should have been : "I'll only take questions on Diabetes please, that's why we're here. Thank you."

yep...Irish your'e right about only the questions...why are we here folks???? btw..I guess with that trip the did find a kid with a very severe case..or rare I'm not sure...and of course you don't hear about that do yah!!!! "f"er's..

Total fucking losers. You're right about dropping them off where Seau grew up and let the problem solve itself. Can't imagine any fucking low life would have the stones to do that if he were still alive.

Why? You don't get to start a confrontation, get your ass kicked, and THEN shoot somebody. If Martin felt threatened by a stranger coming up to him in the pitch dark and playing 20 questions with him while strapping a gun, did he not have the same right to stand his ground?
You did see where the gunshot was determined to have come from intermediate range too, right?
The whole situation was fucked up. IMHO Zimmerman wearing a piece gave him the false bravado to go stalking people - pepper spray would have probably been a much better choice. You KNOW pepper spray will buy you time to GTFO if you start shit you shouldn't have started, but you won't be standing over a corpse if things go wrong.

It's appropriate to walk up to someone and start beating the shit out of a guy that you're pissed off at or "feel"(emphasis on feel) threatened by? Walk away or run away. By all accounts, Martin pursued Zimmerman after the initial "verbal" confrontation. That to me is the determining factor as to intent. Did Martinez identify himself as part of the neighborhood watch? If so, that totally changes the backdrop doesn't it? It seems to me this Martin kid was angry when he started attacking Zimmerman. If that's the case, that is totally different. I've had some very hateful/aggressive behavior directed my way on numerous occasions and I never responded by going postal on them. Once again, accountability gets kicked to the curb and this Zimmerman bozo is being railroaded because of political and racial bs. It's ok to walk up to and beat the crap out of somebody just because you don't like their tone or what they said to you? If both these dude's were the same race, it would never have made the national news. It would have been reported as two idiots acting stupidly ending in tragedy.

He WAS walking away, Trac! You have phone records of Zimmerman recounting his efforts as he pursues the kid through the neighborhood.
Again, picture this:
You're a teenager again - you're in a dark neighborhood that you are somewhat familiar with after stopping in at the gas station and picking up snacks. You are -alone-. Then some dude starts driving past, slowly, again and again, checking you out from his car. You walk a little faster, and then take a turn to get away from this creep. Ooops, now you're a little turned around. You turn back and creepy guy is now walking or running towards you, asking you what you're doing and then....

We don't know. We'll find out in the trial.
It's hardly railroading for someone to face criminal charges for shooting a teenager in murky circumstances, Trac. He's facing the justice system as HE SHOULD HAVE FROM THE BEGINNING. If he's innocent, he'll walk.

Whether race had anything to do with this or not, the failure to pursue more than a cursory investigation by the DA was staggeringly stupid. And the fact that Martin was black merely compounds the stupidity.
If I can go pick a fight on the street knowing that I can always fall back on shooting my assailant without any legal repercussion because he kicked my ass - welcome back to the Wild West. That's NOT how a civilized society acts.

Intermediate range is 1"-18" which is consistent with shooting someone that's on top of you bashing your brains in. Is it so hard to be objective? I think a person would have to be prejudging this situation while discounting the facts in order to be able to take your view Brownie. I just think the facts that are starting to leak out paint a much clearer picture that was initially reported on by the main stream media. If you were accused of "Murder", I'm sure you would like the opportunity to get a fair shake, wouldn't you? That's all I'm addressing here.

It's consistent with alot of different scenarios - I'm not prejudging him. That's up to the judge and possibly a jury trial.
It was absurd that he walked in the first place - now he's under indictment and has to explain how he ended up shooting an unarmed teenager. That's quite a bit less absurd. If he's acquitted, he's acquitted.

And insofar as there are indisputable facts of the case, e.g. he sought out a confrontation with Martin while armed and he is in no way, shape, or form a police offer (or security officer) for that matter, then he has quit a bit to defend, whether or not he got punched. I expect he will get a fair shake in the court room, which is all that I was asking for to begin with.

I get your point but we're looking at this from two different starting points I think. I'm looking at it from when he in essence walked away with no consequences after shooting Martin to death. Now he's going to have to go to court and defend that action.

I'm here, sporadically. At least McClure asked Cutler about his thumb - imo it was the big assuption no one questioned. Watching him throw a few practice tosses on dasite was good to see. Hopefully the thumb will be able to take hits off helmets etc later.

The broken ones are like the beauty spot on Cindy Crawford's face. It's what make them. Tipping the can upside down so that you get a little handful of gold .... product perfection.

May I take this opportunity to thank China for taking over production of Thailand's Snickers bars and reducing the price by 25%. My waistline however, wishes a pox on your firstborn. You too, Pringles.

That Junior Seau story reminded me of a story. A quadriplegic who oversaw rebuilding a 68 Charger with a giant blower that did 700bhp left his house to visit friends and they stole the Charger. The only thing this guy cared about, and they took it from him.

http://www.wqow.com/Global/story.asp?S=9269364

I did some Googling, I don't think they ever found the car. Probably chopped it. What a pisser of a story.

The Colts will need all the luck they can get. Boom boom. Especially after we knock their block off in week one. Whatever the spread on that game is it's going to be free money. It could be like the Dallas game in '85.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 16, 2012 at 12:00 am

I felt like I had to point this out because the true impact of the event is still a couple months away.

BRANDON MARSHALL IS OUR NUMBER 1 RECEIVER.

Isn't it weird that we now have on our team one of the most dynamic and gamechanging WR's to play in the last decade?

He is unstoppable. I can't wait to see him abuse the corners of the NFCN.

That is all I have right now. GP depressed me with the Charger story and I'm already exhausted so I'm out until the next Bears event happens.

Also, let's all seriously consider the Dec 16 game. I have 3 regular tailgating buddies that will allow us to commandeer their normal spots to rock out. I told my wife that I was going to the game. She said I could go if I took her to another game. I now have permission to go to 2 home games this year. Cash in your 401k's motherfuckers cause it's time to behave like animals.

I am buying this today even though I wouldn't be able to bring it: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&oe=&q=lodge+hibachi&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=1677263540706018955&sa=X&ei=shK0T-3YBqiliQL5k6CAAg&ved=0CH0Q8wIwAA#

So I went on StubHub and found tickets for like $600-$800. Is that normal?

Oh, and jesus Christ... does your wife have a sister? I think I'll probably have to buy my wife a new diamond ring and let her go on a vacation for a month just to go to this on game with you monkeys, but fuck it.... I am… doing…. this.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 16, 2012 at 12:00 am

I will look into it. The only rule I know about tailgating is don't drink a bottle of jameson before the game, wander into your ex girlfriends dads luxury box and flick your bestfriends dad's nutsack after running into him at halftime, blackout and unknowingly leave the stadium by the first minute of the 3rd quarter, arrive back at your apartment and eat the rest of your roommate's lou malnatis.....and remember none of it.

Forget trying to park by the field. The 31st Street lots are where the fun is at. RV's are allowed down there in the truck lot and I'm fairly certain you can get there a day or two in advance. The walk to the stadium is the only draw back, but there's a bus for those that can't handle the walk. For those that can, it's either a good time to sober up a bit, or a chance to slam some more beers before paying an arm and a leg for them inside.

Also, for the 31st Street lots, you can buy your parking pass in advance. The site is clickandpark.com (although they're not on sale yet). I'd suggest getting there early to stake out a good spot. We're usually there by 7 a.m., with the bloody mary bar out by 7:01.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 17, 2012 at 12:00 am

I'm recording the stage today. Our cable provider was showing the Giro for the 1st week. That's my favorite race. I wasn't going to bother with both races because you can only watch so much bike racing. When the Amgen Tour started, the cable provider stopped broadcasting the Giro. Fuck me. Hopefully, they will go back for the final week of the Giro after the Amgen Tour is finished. Don't tell me the winner of today's stage. I saw where Sagan won the first three stages. Not too shabby. I'm hoping Horner wins the stage with the monster climb (and the overall).

The Giro has been a crash fest. Crazy sprinters! Did you see Ferrari take out Cavendish? If Ferrari wasn't racing in his homeland he would have been tossed. I don't even like Cavendish (I bet you'd like his wife) and I was outraged. As the sprint was winding up, Cavendish was just passing Ferrari and Ferrari swerves at least 10-15 feet to his right and takes out Cav and Phinney. At 35-40 mph. Ouch.

There's no "I" in team unless you won't pay me the silly money? Sounds like Bree's is trying to use "Bounty Gate" to fleece the Aint's. At what point do these players get it? Franchise Tag means Franchise Tag. Teams have no interest in breaking the bank on a player when they can tag them. Sounds like this year's not gonna be easy in the Big Easy.

These guys crack me up. Do they really charge for their "Insider" information? Does anybody here pay for it? In second thought, please don't tell me cause I don't want to think less of you if you do. He he.

Noted Brownie. No malice attached, I promise. It does make me wonder, what difference could it possibly make at this point in time if it were true? Isn't it a little too late anyhow and if it is true, would Congress do anything about it? That cat's already eaten the canary kinda thing.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 17, 2012 at 12:00 am

1) Like Arian Foster, there are obviously some guys out there who think McCoy is better than Forte. There are also guys who would say the opposite. But I think you're hard pressed to say that either player would be a signficant upgrade over the other - they're both probowl caliber running backs.

2) McCoy's deal is 5 years, $45 million, $20.765 guaranteed. Foster's is 5 years, $43.5 million, $20.75 guaranteed. Foster's total numbers are a bit smaller, but his earnings in the first three years are better. But the deals are very similar.

3) Unless something wierd happens with Ray Rice, there will be no Adrian Peterson deals signed this year. The Peterson and CJ2K contracts have been shown to be too rich and the market has corrected itself.

4) So I will repeat myself again. There is a clear market price for top tier running backs that has been set this season. Forte's contract should be 5 years, average at $8-9 million per year, and guarantee $20-21 million. The signing bonus and yearly splits provide room to negotiate the specifics. Nothing else to talk about.

What I have previously called the "Foster deal" is now the "Foster/McCoy" deal. If Forte is smart, he gets this done now and rejoins his teammates.

Pliney the Younger is a beer that you should be allowed to kill for. It is that good. Our west coast salesman was able to score some and bring it back to Michigan. It was a very happy day at the office, and probably our best Friday 3:30 beer tasting we ever had.

I cut way back (well, other than the DBB party) back in January and managed to lose 30 lbs in the process.
But you're right - nothing beats a cold beer in July heat.
Preferably a Boulevard Wheat (which Cortland's Garage did NOT have on tap, much to my disappointment).

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 18, 2012 at 12:00 am

You know it's over $10K. That electronic shifting is crazy expensive. I've never seen hydraulic caliper rim brakes. I'm not a TT guy so this doesn't really trip my trigger. Not to mention 55/44 chain rings are not exactly ideal for a fat old man. To be honest, I hate the seat cluster area. I'm a total traditionalist and the only carbon fiber on any of my bikes is a fork on my titanium bike. I'm sure that sucker rides like the wind. It would be interesting to know the weight. For the pro races it has to weigh at least 15 lbs so I'm guessing it comes in right at that. I've read that's why they use those solid chain rings. They weigh more and they can use them for power meters. Amazing you have to add heavier components to get UP to 15 lbs. If you hit the lottery in a couple of years this bike might come down a little bit. With very limited production, I'll bet your guess of $20K is pretty close. Love bike porn!

I would love to own that bike. Would never spend $10+ on a bike though... not until I hit that lottery at least.

My P3 is just the stock one, but I might have to upgrade my current ride to something like this before I get something new: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-do6ii1pN-9Y/TkVLlRtYMjI/AAAAAAAAVsU/vr3AJEWi-8U/s1600/CerveloP3C2007.jpeg

That wheel set is pretty amazing. Just not sure dropping $2.5k on wheels that don’t do too much but make me look more like a tri geek is worth it. Not like the extra 40 seconds over a 40k is worth a couple g to me.

I signed up for my first race in years at the end of July though. It's just a sprint tri, which is actually too short for me (never really get warmed up in one event before you go to the next), but it's a fun one.

Unfortunately, I took an eggbeater to the calf two weekends ago when I yardsaled on my MTB. Fucking calf is still all black and blue and I can't run yet. Nasty man, but I can still swim and ride. Hope you’re getting out there!

Nice wheels. Fucking expensive!!!!!!! The most I've ever spent on a bike was $2.5k. That's the titanium one with the CF fork. All Dura-Ace. I've got 6 bikes. One from the '70's, 80's, 3 from the 90's and the titanium one from 2000. Ride all of them except for the Schwinn replica of a '50s cruiser with a springer front end. I bought that on a whim for a couple hundred bucks. I ride it occasionally but it's more of a conversation piece. I've got a little over 800 miles for the year. Ride year 'round to work. My buddy and I are going to do a week long ride in 4 National Parks in August (Kootenay, Yoho, Banff and Jasper). I've ridden the route about a half dozen times but my buddy never has. My Honey Bunny is going to be our sherpa. I'm slow as hell but I always make it. Can't imagine what my life would have been like without the bike.

Good on ya for getting back into competition. Too bad about the crash. I was terrible at mountain biking and do very little. My brother-in-law used to take me with his friends but they were all very experienced and in better shape (not to mention, 20 years younger). I'd suffer all the way up and be terrified all the way down. I kept getting dinged up and finally broke some ribs. Oh well.

Have fun in Chicago. If you guys want to go to a great Blues bar my favorite is Kingston Mines. Overall, it just depends on who's playing where. I'm sure you guys are looking for a younger crowd. I'll need a full report!!!!!!

HaHa...I have been refraining from the "Fantasy" tempation...everytime I click on a football article, there's usually a little "fantasy" one too, or podcast, and I say, "No BUTCH, look away...it's much too early to begin FF scouting!" lol

which Bush? The MIA one claims he wants to rush for 2,000 yds or something, and if he can last, he'd be a pretty good 2nd/3rd RB.

CHI Bush (Insert joke anytime you want guys) will be somewhat more limited in that Forte will get a ton of the dump offs and everything between the 20s. I see him more as a 3rd flex guy (I had him last year and at best he was a 2nd team while getting all the reps).

Marshall I'm sure will be gone by the time I pick because I'm sure Irish is going to draft him with the #1over all pick, but I also had him last year, and he was the perfect #2 WR. Nothing spectacular like CJ, but he always just caught a lot of balls. What was frustrating about Marshall was that he COULD have been an FF stud, but he dropped a few too many TDs AND teams were literally double teaming him because he was their only WR.

Gronk is a no brainer, but there are weeks where Hernandez/Welker will get all the targets, so it's feast or famine with him.

D/ST Bears solid as always. There are a few other sleepers I'm monitoring, but I'm not gonna spill the beans here.

Kickers - Akers a good choice. Ironically, in the playoffs, my kicker always gave me the edge. When you have a good one, it's like a nice little Xmas bonus.

Last night and Shady, MBP (Rabbit), Johnny, and I got into it for a few games before Johnny threw down his ninja smoke bomb and quickly disappeared behind the billows. Good times. Come join us.

My name is the same, shady is shadynuggets, MBP is deadrabbit4, Johnny’s is johnnypelo, doc’s is the same too. Hook it up. Some or all of us will be on again tonight most likely.

On a separate note….

The four of us are already seriously planning to hook up for the Dec 16th game. I am going to look into, and book, flights and hotel as soon as I get good intel from the blog natives on where to stay. I was thinking a place like the W with a cool vibe and a bar that has action… not looking for an expensive stuffy 100 year old hotel that’s decorated like my grandmamma’s house. Any suggestions chi-town brethren?

So, when this goes down, who’s in? GP, Murph, all the local chi-town locals HAVE to show up. We’re talking about some serious pre-game tailgating with lots of alkeyhol and grillables. This game will be for the NFCN title AND a first round bye (for us… the fudge will already have been eliminated)… mark my words.

I propose bringing T.O. on board for the league minimum. We could use him in a 3 or 4 WR set several times a game. It would be very interesting to see how teams would cover him, Marshall, Jeffery and Hester all at the same time. It would be crazy.

I actually think T.O. did well for the Bengals; a lot better than he gets credit for. With last year's roster, I would have agreed with you.

But this year we're done at WR. I wouldn't take TO and I wouldn't take Plax. We've got Marshall, Bennett and Jeffery starting. We've got Hester and Weems to work in to the rotation. And if we take a 6th or 7th spot, I think it goes to Johnny on the PUP list.

Hey Doc, yeah it makes a world of difference how you feel. You're wide awake and in a good mood. Not sure how long your commute is. If it's short (15-20 minutes) you can get by pretty easy. If it's longer, you'll need some high tech clothes. I've got an old goretex jacket that's still waterproof that I wear in the rain. It's pretty dry here so I don't worry too much about the rain. I wear waterproof pants (low tech, plastic-y) when the temp is below 40 ish. Once it gets really cold I just layer underneath them. I've got silk long johns underneath until it's under 20. Then I go to thick fleece underneath. My legs never get too cold with that and I've ridden down to -25 F. I wear skateboard shoes until the temps get below 20, then switch to all terrain type shoes. I wear regular biking socks and switch to wool socks as the temp drops. I'll wear a couple pairs of wool socks once it's below 0. Up top, I wear a canvas coat (like carhart) and layer more and more as it gets cold. The key is to be windproof. In your area I'm guessing windproof and waterproof are key. I've got an old wool biking hat from the '80's and three different weight balaclavas. Gloves vary from biking gloves to Goretex gloves with very warm wool gloves underneath. My ride is short 15-20 minutes. Try not to wear too much on your legs or else it's a bitch trying to pedal. Don't be afraid to drop some dough on a good rain suit. In your area I'm sure it's a must. Make sure it's waterproof and breathable. Shoe covers should be waterproof. Breathable isn't necessary for them. The money you save on gas, parking, etc adds up pretty quick. Hope you've got a safe place for your bike. If not, consider riding a POS with good bearings. No lock is foolproof. Glad you're commuting. I started over 30 years ago and it's truly one of the best decisions I've ever made. Hope this helps.

Not really. I used to take the winters off but up here that meant stopping in Nov and not starting up again until April or May. I suffer from seasonal affective disorder (winter blues) and riding during the winter helps tremendously. Trust me, I bitch, whine and cry when it's really cold.

One last thing. Make sure you have lights and full fenders. A white light for the front and at least one red light in the rear. I use blinking, LED lights. I don't need them to see as much as to be seen. If you need them to light your way the blinking option is out. I also have reflective bands on the pants and my helmet is reflective.

That made me laugh! If you ever saw me bundled up on a cold day you'd laugh your ass off. I literally have to set aside an extra 10 minutes in the winter to put all that shit on and take it off at work. I hate being cold. Once I get all that shit on I'm roasting until I get out the door. Cool off pretty quickly. I ride a mt bike with knobbies. In the winter, I put on studded knobbies. They're kind of useless in the snow but work pretty good on packed snow and ice as long as you NEVER lean into a turn. Nothing good can came from that.

Thanks Canada. Many good suggestions. My commute is about 7 miles. Not being in shape, it took me just shy of an hour. I'd imagine I'll get it down to no more than 40 minutes when I shed a few lbs and get used to it.

I was fortunate enough to have a colleague at woke GIVE me the bike with fenders, lights, a rack, disk brakes....It's road ready. Don't need a lock, I just park my bike in my office. Perks of Professorship. Not looking forward to the weather, but the nice thing is, if the weather sucks too bad, I can put the bike on the bus and ditch out if I want to. Still working on optimal/safest routes, but so far, there is a bike lane or bike path for 80% of it.

I'm pretty excited about the whole thing. I can't find time for exercise so this'll kill that bird with the stone aimed at the gas companies. Fucking price-gouging sons of bitches...

good one on you doc
i'm proud of you
don't let the cold scare ya
i used to get up at 6 a.m.
head to the golf course
donned in hockey gear
with a shovel and stick and duffle bag
slung over my shoulder
shovel off the water holes ice
and skate till dusk
walk 2 miles back home
then head out to argon labs
with wine and other material
slip on the cross country skis
and ski through the forest
till well after midnight
all in sub freezing temps
get yourself a good outet layer
a poly based product to cut the wind
and your body will produce the heat required
to comfortably get you to class
on the weekend
pack that bike into your ride
head to the woods
fire one up
and ride the trails
moonlit nights in the forest
the moonbeams reflecting off
a new fallen snow
the silence the cold wind on your cheeks
and your whole body pumpin
blood and oxygen laced with
the psycho tropic
oh man that is pure
sweetness

that's the spirit
you got a high energy motor
installed in your machine
i am not the man
i used to be
but, i can still do 8 miles
in the blistering sun
with a 60 lb. bag on my shoulder
my point for doc
is
you can stay out
in cold weather as long as
he keeps moving
beating the temp. battle
starts in the brain
shit i used to walk the dog
in the ice and snow
in my bare feet

Outstanding! Honestly, if you have good rain gear it shouldn't be too bad. I used to commute anywhere from 7-10 miles one way. It would take me 40-45 minutes. The worst part about riding in the rain is being seen. A bright yellow rain suit would really help. Looks dorky as hell but people will see you. It's a pisser to start out in the rain but once you're riding it's not a big deal. I've been married almost the entire time I've been bike commuting. Because of the commuting, I only had one car most of that time. Saves a ton of dough. I work in the natural gas industry and if you can give the oil and gas industry a big fuck you, good on ya!

hey you fracker
what's in your secret
"formula"
i know
it's a trade secret
HAH!
did you catch the new ruling
handed down from the high sheriff's court
doctors can now get the "secrets"
but they must sign the "gagged" order
never letting the "super secret"
special ingredients to be revealed
in any way shape or form
as long as they occupy the body

At first I thought the fracker comment was a polite way of saying fucker and I couldn't figure out your post (wouldn't be the first time). I have no connection to that part of the industry. I work in a control room moving the gas. By the time it gets to us it has already been processed by a gas plant. I don't blame anyone for being concerned about the ground water getting contaminated. A very real possibility. Right now the natural gas industry is not doing any new wells. Gas prices are at 1970's levels. The reason for the glut is all the new shale oil wells (where they do the fracking). The natural gas from these wells is a byproduct. Things are crazy in North Dakota and are starting to really heat up in Sask. because of shale oil. I've worked in the gas and electric industry since my 20's. I don't complain about environmental issues caused by the industry because it would be totally hypocritical.

The Pothole. Good name for a man-cave. Although I possess neither a man cave nor access to any pot. My soul has been dying slowly for almost a year now. Seed donations by post are welcome.

Doc would probably get fatter just imagining living in Chicago. Italian beef. Polish dogs. Malnatis. Ah, living in Chi-town .... the little fat man inside all of us would escape, never again to be re-incarcerated.

don't know whether this sentiment
has been brought out
but, i like the fact that Jay C
spoke about the O-line
in terms that
define him as the leader of that group
he needs to stay on them now
'cause if they are not camp ready
when the bell rings
then he can take them to task
and demand better effort
'cause it's his ass o9n the line
and they need to hear from him
to get in shape and excell beyond last years effort

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 21, 2012 at 12:00 am

Alright, gear-heads - so I bought a cheapo Jeep mountain bike awhile ago and the crank arm on the left side is stripped. Tightened the nut on the crank arm to keep it secure and after a few miles, it just works loose again.
How tough is it to replace the crankset (which I assume I'm going to have to do) and how do I go about figuring out which of the hundreds of cranksets available will work?
It's a six-speed...
Is this something I should bother attempting myself? Or just scrap the bike and get a new one? I don't ride really technical paths (figure 12-20 miles a week on hiking-type trails)...
What so you?

Get a new bike. Putting a new crank on that bike is like polishing a turd. You could try tightening the crank using some loctite or epoxy, super, crazy, glue. At this point, you can't hurt it. Basically you just learned why you should never buy a bike that isn't sold in a bike shop. Total POS. No offense. of course.

Look around your area for bike clubs. A lot of times the bike nuts will have multiple bikes and will sell you one. Or check the internet and do some homework.

Here's a website that sells bike shop bikes direct. I've never bought anything from them but the prices are right.

http://bikesdirect.com/

If you end up getting a decent bike, look into getting a good bike repair book. Lennard Zinn from the Velo News has a book for road bikes and a book for mt bikes. Tons of info, pics, tools you'll need, compatibility, etc. He's an engineer so he's very thorough.

Also, here's another website that will explain stuff for you. The guy has passed away but he was a real character who was revered in the biking community. His wife gets donations from the biking community to keep the website going.

Cutty's flesh cannon of sweet death which will impregnate opposing defenses with dread whilst creating fear boners amongst defensive coordinators of the great satan that is GB, Detroit and Minny said May 21, 2012 at 12:00 am

For those of you who want 1000 comments before Jeff climbs the rock you can get 5000....50,000....500,000 before he ever gets to the top. He is sitting down in the boat throwing back a few pints while his Sweetheart climbs that rock. He gives her the camera and say's " Follow someone with a fat ass so they will think it;s me" . This is a guy who walks into RedBull Stadium and takes the elevator DOWN to field level.